Stamford family, dogs escape house fire

John Nickerson

Updated 8:36 pm, Monday, January 13, 2014

STAMFORD -- A power strip with too many appliances plugged into it was the cause of a minor residential fire in a two-family home on Noble Street on Sunday night, fire officials said.

Firefighters were called to 42 Noble St. by the homeowners when they returned home at 7:13 p.m. after picking up a takeout dinner at a local restaurant.

"By the time we got home, I looked at my bedroom window and I saw flames. I said `Oh my God, there are flames in by bedroom!' " said Jennie Pagliarulo, 26, as she and her father were cleaning up broken glass on the driveway Monday morning.

Pagliarulo said she and her father, Rocco, who were only out of the house for about 15 minutes, ran into the home and opened her bedroom door to get her nine-month-old puppy Star out of the room, but she could not find the little dog.

"I opened up the door and a cloud of smoke came at me," she said.

Firefighters and her father were able to find the dog, but it collapsed just outside the bedroom door.

Deputy Fire Chief Eric Lorenz said firefighters used a specially manufactured oxygen mask on Star and another dog that was in a less smoky part of the house, reviving the two animals.

Pagliarulo said Star was apparently able keep her head under a dresser while the room filled with smoke.

Lorenz said firefighters saw flames through Pagliarulo's bedroom window when they arrived. He said firefighters from the West Side firehouse who were first on the scene stretched a hose line and put out the fire quickly.

Three adults and three children who were upstairs when Pagliarulo saw the flames were evacuated without injury, Lorenz said.

Lorenz said Pagliarulo's quick call to police helped keep the fire from spreading throughout the house, even though Pagliarulo's bedroom was "significantly damaged."

"We definitely caught the fire at its incipient state and it was much easier for us to control it," Lorenz said.

Lorenz said the downstairs residence was heavily damaged by smoke, but no structural damage was found.

Rocco Pagliarulo said his father bought the structure in the 1930s.

"Everything is replaceable, but not your life," he said while sweeping up the driveway. Pagliarulo said he and his daughter will try to stay in the home while repairs are made.

Assistant Fire Marshal Bob Sollitto said the fire was caused by an overloaded power strip. He said too many devices were plugged into the strip -- including a mini refrigerator. The current overloaded the strip, melting it down, creating a short circuit and causing the fire, he said.